Aerox iOS review

And so to the App Store’s Aerox (not available on Google Play, I’m afraid), a game currently riding high in Top Free Games (“FREE for a limited time only!”), and with pretty decent user reviews.

Is Aerox another App Store gem, or was it a waste of freakin’ time? Answer: the first one. Well, mostly.

Aerox takes its cue from the likes of Marble Madness and Super Monkey Ball. Essentially you’re using your iDevice’s accelerometer to tilt a ball around series of courses.

There are 30 courses in total in Aerox, featuring components such as pipes, rails, ramps, jump pads and blocks, and for the most part, the levels are really well put together, with cheeky puzzles here and there.

My main gripe is with the controls. Little things bothered me in Aerox, like the inability to move the camera while stationary.

The most infuriating element in Aerox, however, is when it comes to moving boxes around. Some pieces have little green arrows on them and eagerly move around invisible axes. Perfect.

But, for some reason, other boxes move around with frustratingly accurate physics. That might sound like a strange complaint, but trying to manoeuvre a box up a ramp, for example, is nothing less than a nightmare; it’ll constantly slip to the side if you don’t hit it dead on, which is no mean feat with accelerometer controls.

It’s also quite hard to gauge how fast you’re going. Oftentimes I felt like I was going full pelt (with my iPhone titled firmly away from me), but came up short when it came to a jump or whatever.

And why, Aerox, is there no option to retry a level on completion? Part of the draw is attempting to beat your high score and move up the world rankings, so I don’t always want to move on to the next level.

Incidentally, looking at the Game Center Aerox leaderboards, it’s amusing to watch the drop-off in players as the levels go on. A whopping 2.8 million times have been logged on Level 1, but only 250,000 people have made it as far as Level 25.

And that’s Aerox. I realise I’ve been largely negative in this review, but it's a mostly great game – just a little rough around the edges. Roll on Aerox 2 (pun intended).

Pros

It’s free (for now)

30 levels

Solid level design

Cons

Occasionally frustrating tilt controls

Those bloomin’ boxes

Let me retry

Summary: Aerox invites you to guide a ball through 30 well-designed courses, and for the most part it’s pretty great.

Wonder full game, spot on for my taste. Also, the criticism about the physics and camera controls in the review are not entirely accurate imo. If you want to look around just hit the brakes and tilt. About the physics: If you were a ball pushing a box op a ramp ? How would you manage ?